ManpowerGroup Solutions has released its fourth Contingent Workforce Index (CWI), which tracks the relative ease of sourcing, hiring and retaining contingent workforce in 75 countries.

In the report, New Zealand leads for the second consecutive year, which ManpowerGroup states demonstrates an optimal environment for use of contingent labour: Availability, cost efficiency, regulation and productivity. Singapore (2nd), the Philippines (3rd), Israel (4th) and India (5th) moved to the top of the leader board in 2016. The United States and Canada fell from the top five global markets, dropping to sixth and seventh from second and third, respectively.

Kate Donovan, senior vice president of ManpowerGroup Solutions, commented, "Over the past year, we saw a shift in priorities that resulted in a change in the 2016 weighting attributed to workforce size.

"Employers are feeling the talent shortage. Availability of contingent workers, as well as skilled labor, is gaining prominence. As a result, we saw countries like China and India re-emerge into the top ten markets for availability of talent. ManpowerGroup Solutions uses this tool to advise clients of the best countries in which to expand their operations based on specific criteria related to the workforce. The volatility across global labor markets makes this tool more valuable than ever."

Raleen Gagnon, director of market intelligence for ManpowerGroup Solutions, said, "Compared to last year, the 2016 CWI allows for a greater influence of skilled contingent workforce availability when it comes to determining locations for growing business.

"Weighting of specific metrics is adjusted annually to highlight the most influential factors when considering new markets for contingent labor opportunities. The increased focus on Availability has resulted in concessions on lower wage markets, as employers are considering non-wage based labor costs such as benefits and taxes, due to their increasing impact on the total cost of labor."

Regional rankings

APAC: The greatest shift in the APAC region is the movement of Singapore, the Philippines and India back into the top five in 2016. New Zealand ranks highest of all countries for Regulation of contingent workforce engagement practices, including geopolitical factors, holding its top ranked position in both the region and globally for the second year in a row. Hong Kong also appears in the top five.

Americas: The United States and Canada hold the top two positions in the Americas region for the third consecutive year. The United States has a very slight lead over Canada due to a fall in Canada's Availability ranking based on the higher weighting in 2016. Columbia, Mexico and Puerto Rico also join the top five for the region.

EMEA: Israel maintains its top ranking in the EMEA region in 2016, moving up from fourth in 2014. Despite the change in Availability rankings, Israel remains in the lead overall ahead of Ireland, the United Kingdom and South Africa. Both South Africa and Turkey advance to the top five nations for 2016, with high marks in Productivity.